That same day, Theo took Peon into the city to shop for clothes and basic necessities for him and his sister. Peon made no difficulties—he accepted whatever Theo handed him, never asking for anything special. He had already begun to resign himself to his new reality as a slave, afraid that if he appeared demanding, his new master's favor would vanish.
Yet there was one request he voiced clearly: a mask. A simple, cheap mask to cover the ruined face he could no longer bear to show. Theo obliged, buying him a black cloth mask that concealed everything but his eyes—eyes heavy with grief, and glimmering with cruelty.
Then came the matter of a weapon.
Peon's weapon of choice had once been the broadsword. That was no longer possible after the loss of his left arm. But his instincts guided him quickly: a light sword with a short hilt, ideal for one-handed combat.
With weapon in hand, Theo took him next to the institution's library to purchase a martial art suited for the light sword. Peon browsed the scrolls in silence, while Theo waited absent-mindedly by the entrance.
Robin's words from that morning echoed in his head. Could he truly master a major law? Like the emperors and their dynasties? Less than half a year ago, he had been a naked slave on a platform, waiting to be sold like livestock. Now, Robin was offering him the chance to touch powers that could overturn kingdoms. It was too much, too fast. Too good to be true.
He lingered in that daze until the sharp sound of Peon's fingers snapping brought him back to the present.
Two more days slipped away like water.
Robin had personally begun teaching little Zara the energy cultivation technique. He added simple lessons she adored—drawing. Though his teaching was unexpectedly harsh, especially when it came to precision in circles and curves, Zara loved every moment. She didn't understand why it mattered so much, but she didn't care. To her, it was fun.
"Theo, come here," Robin's voice called out.
Theo, busy instructing Peon in the basics of his new training method, quickly obeyed. He entered to find Robin bent over drawings with Zara. Robin looked up.
"The three-day deadline is over. Have you decided which path you want?"
Theo nodded.
"Good. Then show me. Damn it, I really need to start teaching you to write…" Robin muttered.
Theo hesitated, then walked to a nearby candle and blew it out.
Robin raised an eyebrow. "The Law of Extinguishing? That's only a minor law…"
Theo shook his head sharply, then pointed around the room.
"…Darkness?" Robin asked.
Theo nodded heavily.
"Darkness, hmm. The major law of that path isn't famous for its combat strength. Are you certain?"
Theo fell into silence for a moment, then nodded again.
Robin leaned back. "Living so long in the Dark Ruins has left its mark on you. Very well. I'll see what I can do." His mind was already whirring with plans to extract the perfect pattern of the Major Law of Darkness.
"Big Brother Robin, I can teach Brother Theo to write if you want!" Zara piped up, her voice bright. As a Baron's daughter, she had received a refined education and was more than capable of teaching letters and script. More than that—she wanted to be useful, to contribute something, to earn her new master's approval.
Robin chuckled, patting her head. "Good. That'll save me time. But remember—drawing lessons come first. You can teach him to write in your spare hours."
Zara blinked. Drawing again? She had finally found something meaningful to do, but her master still insisted on colors and lines as though they mattered more than words. Confused, yet secretly delighted, she nodded. Life under Robin was already far different from what she had feared.
Eight months passed in a blur. Only two months remained until the appointed day of the duel.
Caesar had all but vanished into seclusion. His meals and energy stones were pushed beneath his door each day, and the only sign of life was the waves of heat that occasionally radiated from his room.
Peon had risen to the seventh level, steadily advancing toward the eighth.
Theo had climbed even higher, reaching the very peak of the seventh and poised to break into the eighth at any moment.
Even little Zara astonished them all, racing to the peak of the fourth level.
Robin himself had advanced as well, now at the top of the fourth level. But none of his followers underestimated him. His true power lay not in muscle, but in mind. Only a month earlier, he had completed the extraction of the first stage of the Major Law of Darkness. He was now refining it into a cultivation technique Theo could truly grasp.
The Law of Darkness. A power so obscure that even its minor aspects were barely understood, while the major law itself remained utterly unknown. Yet this boy—who outwardly looked no older than thirteen—had unearthed its perfect pattern.
It had not come easily. Unlike the Fire Law, the Darkness Law demanded extreme conditions. Robin had descended into caverns, dug deep pits in his own courtyard, even had Theo bury him beneath the earth to simulate true darkness. Only then had he been able to trace its elusive form.
It had taken longer. It had tested him harder. But the reward surpassed his expectations.
After a month of seclusion, Robin emerged at last, eyes gleaming, a thick tome in hand.
"Theo!" he called.
Theo rushed to him, both eager and trembling with anticipation.
"Congratulations," Robin said, tossing the book to him. "At first I thought the Law of Darkness would amount to nothing more than hiding in shadows. But I've uncovered far more: abilities of stealth at any hour, swallowing power, Dark Corrosion. Whether or not you intended it, you chose well."
The tome was over seven hundred pages thick.
"The path won't rival Fire in direct combat," Robin continued. "But as the foundation for an assassin? It's perfect."
With that, he turned back toward his chambers, already preparing to reward himself with days of sleep.
Theo stared down at the book as though it were a chest of treasures. His heartbeat thundered in his chest. To anyone watching, it would have seemed as if he held a relic of the heavens themselves.
And perhaps… he did.